Gian Paolo Barbieri PRESENTS Gian Paolo Barbieri Marina Bay Sands • Singapore 23/26 October 2014 Gian Paolo Barbieri

Gian Paolo Singapore 2014 Barbieri • Marina Bay Sands • Singapore 23/26 October 2014 b ieri Bar Gian Paolo

Was born in Milan in 1938 into a wealthy family of fabric wholesalers, learning from a young age the art of knowing the fabrics, knowledge that would become very useful to his profession as a fashion photographer. But during his teenage years it would be other places to captivate his attention: theatres, in the first place, which would feed and bring out his fantastic vein; discovering, not long after, the cinema that would reveal it self to be a life long passion. Following this passion he moves to Rome in 1962.

To manage, in the meantime, he develops and prints out the pictures taken of upcoming starlets and aspiring divas. But not for long. Life would take him elsewhere, to Paris, to work as photographer Tom Kublin’s assistant.

And it is this experience of two “excruciating” months that would launch him into the world of photography. In 1965 he joined Italian Vogue, and produced the cover of its first issue. His work for theI talian, French, American and German editions of Vogue led on to publicity work with the great fashion designers Valentino, Armani, Saint Laurent, Ferrè, Versace and Dolce & Gabbana.

In 1978 the German magazine Stern ranked him among the fourteen top fashion photographers. In the 90s he made several trips to tropical paradises such as Tahiti, Madagascar, Seychelles and Polynesia, in which he describes places and distant realities with his impeccable taste meaning to combine the spontaneity of those people and those places with elegance and style.

He shoots in analogic mode and does not retouch his pictures. His photographs are on show at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Kunstforum in Vienna and the National Portrait Gallery of London.

4 5 Letter from Yves Saint Laurent to Gian Paolo Barbieri

Gian Paolo Barbieri goes through the sumptuous elegance of his portraits of women as good as the scenes of the poor neighborhoods, with the same spirit and the same love. A secret that belongs to no one but him.

Since I met him, thanks to Gustav Zumsteg, I was extremely fascinated by his work. I was so impressed by a portrait of a young woman, a face of a surprising intensity that I did not hesitate to make this the image of the last fragrance launched at the time.

I deeply admire Gian Paolo Barbieri. I believe him so sensitive, human, capable of tenderness and nobility. Painter of everyday universe and mysterious dreams.

Yves Saint Laurent April 1988

6 7 Fashion Barbieri did not start his career as a photographer. What he was most drawn to in his youth was literature, theatre and film. When he moved to Paris to study under the great fashion photographer Tom Kublin, Barbieri brought with him a culture of the imagination that few others could boast. This helps explain his rapid rise to success.

Barbieri’s apparently “new”, modern photographs reflect the beauty of a déjà-vu, a vast cultural heritage that adds to the originality of his work something which was not the case with other photographers, for whom “citation” meant producing poor copies or fakes. By contrast, each photograph by Barbieri is an artwork, regardless of the reason why it had been taken or of the commercial purpose it served.

When we gaze at Gian Paolo Barbieri’s photographs, created in a refined and light-hearted spirit, we come to experience a visual theatricality that will blot out the surroundings to allow only the pictures themselves to stand out.

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Tropical moments The ethnic research as an addition to Barbieri’s fantastic fashion photography brings some considerations to mind.

Despite their photographically sophisticated appearance, these pictures actually possess a classic simplicity. The background is secondary compared to the human figures dominating the scene. These figures – the explicit or implicit subjects – are perceived so intimately as to engender a sense of manifest beauty. Since photography distinguishes itself from all other forms of communication – and not necessarily visual – on account of the crucial connection it established with the subject it records, it is often reduced to this alone: that is, its subject. Whether this is a real subject, i.e. life in its unfolding, or a constructed subject, it is never easy for the viewer to take the step required: from merely necessary representation to intentional, conscious representation. When at work, a painter can choose his vantage point, just as he can choose to include – or exclude – whatever elements he pleases in his painting.

The photographer’s action is subject to different constraints, for he must arrange his subject – albeit often only in his mind, as in the case of real- life photography – in such a way that the viewer may be able to recognize the content of the image created, a side from its explicit and manifest form. Gian Paolo Barbieri charms, bewilders and moves viewers’ hearts and minds. And this too is one of the functions of photography, as well as art more generally. Barbieri makes skilful use of light (for photography is light). Alternating vigour and subjective and dramatic fullness, he arranges his subjects with refined taste in all of their depth and intensity. These photographs resonate like the human soul, with hunting clarity.

30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Flowers Barbieri comes to appreciate the fleshiness, vitality and aggressiveness of the flowers of Africa, the Amazon and Polynesia during the many travels in his beloved tropics.

He thus began photographing these flowers as an exuberant expression of nature, proudly displaying its most beautiful creation. Whereas Mapplethorpe’s flowers are formally arranged just like his slender greenhouse flowers, those of Barbieri are natural, direct, real, opulent, and joyous, growing with striking expressive purity and simplicity. Barbieri’s photographs combine the prehistoric approach, the aesthetic purpose of classical Greek beauty, and the newly discovered sense of freedom of the Renaissance. All this is expressed by means of an outstanding technical skill “in the studio”. For this, the studio, is the place for the art of photography in Barbieri’s mind; ultimately, it stands for artifice, theatrical representation, the reflection of reality in the eyes of the artist.

Barbieri always keeps this well in mind. Hence, the intentionally drawn association between flowers and human bodies should come as no surprise: for the artist the two represent the same unique and magnificent expression of nature.

44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 Index

8 10-11 12 Fashion Section Felicitas, Vogue Italia, Felicitas, Vogue Italia, Singapore, 1982 Raffles Hotel Singapore, 1982 72 x 90 cm - Edition 2/15 FASHION Barbieri did not start his career as a photographer. 9 90 x 72 cm - Edition 2/15 What he was most drawn to in his youth was literature, theatre and film. When he moved to Paris to study under the great fashion photographer Tom Kublin, Barbieri brought with him a culture of the imagination that few others could boast. This Vivienne Westwood, London, 1998 13 helps explain his rapid rise to success. Barbieri’s apparently “new”, modern photographs reflect the Sue Smithers for Yves Saint Laurent, beauty of a déjà-vu, a vast cultural heritage that adds to the 100 x 126 cm - Edition 1/15 originality of his work something which was not the case with other photographers, for whom “citation” meant producing poor copies or fakes. By contrast, each photograph by Barbieri Vogue France, Paris, 1977 is an artwork, regardless of the reason why it had been taken or of the commercial purpose it served. When we gaze at Gian Paolo Barbieri’s photographs, created 90 x 90 cm - Edition 1/15 in a refined and light-hearted spirit, we come to experience a visual theatricality that will blot out the surroundings to allow only the pictures themselves to stand out.

8 9 10 11 12 13

14 - 15 16 18 - 19 Yolande, Vogue Italia, 1978 Ingemarie for Walter Albini, Monica Bellucci 90 x 60 cm - Edition 2/15 tribute to Chanel, Vogue Italia, 1975 for Dolce & Gabbana, Milan, 2000 90 x 90 cm - Edition 1/15 72 x 90 cm - Edition 2/15 17 Lilò, Vogue Italia, 1979 50 x 62 cm - Edition 2/15

16 17 18 19 14 15

20 22 24 Neith Hunter, Vogue Italia, 1983 Vivienne Westwood, 1997 Eva Malstrom, Vogue Italia, 1979 50 x 62 cm - Edition 2/15 72 x 90 cm - Edition 2/15 62 x 62 cm - Edition 5/15 21 23 25 Jill Kellington, Vogue France, Jerry Hall Simonetta Gianfelici for Valentino, 1983 Port Sudan, 1974 dress Missoni for Vivienne Westwood, 1997 62 x 50 cm - Edition 3/15 90 x 90 cm - Edition 3/15 72 x 90 cm - Edition 2/15

22 23 24 25 20 21

26 - 27 28 - 29 30 Audrey Hepburn for Valentino, Tatiana Savialova Tropical Moments Section TROPICAL MOMENTS Vogue Italia, Rome, 1969 for Valentino, 1996 The ethnic research as an addition to Barbieri’s fantastic fashion photography brings some considerations to mind.

Despite their photographically sophisticated appearance, these pictures 26 - 90 x 90 cm - Edition 1/15 100 x 122 cm - Edition 1/15 actually possess a classic simplicity. The background is secondary 31 compared to the human figures dominating the scene. These figures – the explicit or implicit subjects – are perceived so intimately as to engender a sense of manifest beauty. Since photography distinguishes itself from all 27 - 72 x 90 cm - Edition 7/15 other forms of communication – and not necessarily visual – on account Sailfish, Madagascar, 1994 of the crucial connection it established with the subject it records, it is often reduced to this alone: that is, its subject. Whether this is a real subject, i.e. life in its unfolding, or a constructed subject, it is never easy for the viewer to take the step required: from merely necessary representation 62 x 62 cm - Edition 2/15 to intentional, conscious representation. When at work, a painter can choose his vantage point, just as he can choose to include – or exclude – whatever elements he pleases in his painting.

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 34 36 Seychelles, 1998 Carapace, Seychelles, 1998 Seychelles, 2011 62 x 50 cm - Edition 1/15 50 x 62 cm - Edition 3/15 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15 33 35 37 “Sperimentazioni”, Aepyornis Egg, Madagascar, 1994 Seychelles, 2011 Seychelles, 2008 50 x 62 cm - Edition 2/15 62 x 50 cm - Edition 1/15 A - 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15 B - 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15

32 33 34 35 36 37

38 40 42 Manta, Seychelles, 1998 Tahiti, 1989 Tahiti, 1989 50 x 62 cm - Edition 4/15 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15 39 41 43 “Cascata di Pesci”, Seychelles, 2009 Shell Call, Tahiti, 1989 Tahiti, 1989 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15 62 x 50 cm - Edition 4/15 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15

38 39 40 41 42 43

44 46 48 Flowers Section Frangipane, 2013 Giglio Casablanca, 2013 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15 FLOWERS Barbieri comes to appreciate the fleshiness, vitality and aggressiveness of the flowers of Africa, the Amazon and 45 Polynesia during the many travels in his beloved tropics.

He thus began photographing these flowers as an exuberant expression of nature, proudly displaying its most beautiful Giglio Casablanca, 2013 47 49 creation. Whereas Mapplethorpe’s flowers are formally arranged just like his slender greenhouse flowers, those of Barbieri are natural, direct, real, opulent, and joyous, growing with striking expressive purity and simplicity. Barbieri’s 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15 A - Orchidea, 2013 Spathiphyllum, 2013 photographs combine the prehistoric approach, the aesthetic purpose of classical Greek beauty, and the newly discovered sense of freedom of the Renaissance. All this is expressed by means of an outstanding technical skill “in the studio”. For this, 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15 the studio, is the place for the art of photography in Barbieri’s mind; ultimately, it stands for artifice, theatrical representation, the reflection of reality in the eyes of the artist. B - Orchidea, 2013 Barbieri always keeps this well in mind. Hence, the intentionally drawn association between flowers and human bodies should come as no surprise: for the artist the two represent the same unique and magnificent expression of nature. 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15

44 45 46 47 48 49

50 A - Calla, 2013 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15 B - Calla, 2013 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15 51 Calla, 2013 50 x 62 cm - Edition 1/15

50 51 Publications Exhibitions

Every photograph by Gian Paolo is a journey. Each of his images stems from a passion for photography. As a professional in the industry for more than fifty years, much of his commissioned work has been for the fashion world, photographing dresses and people for magazines and fashion designers. With an eye for the unusual, he also photographed floral and tropical landscapes and subjects, finding something fresh and inspiring, giving off energy and life. So, thank you Gian Paolo for this journey, together, that begins today in Singapore. Thanks to Manuel R. for all the work of meticulous care. Thanks also to Pupi and Antonio A., Sabrina C. and Piero S., Lorenza and Fabio C., Giovanni A., Edith L., Ermanno P., Marco and Matteo M. And again, thanks to the wind. Luca Casulli Eugenio Calini

A special thank to

29artsinprogress.com Exhibition of Gian Paolo Barbieri produced and curated by 29 Arts in Progress Venue Marina Bay Sands, Singapore • 23/26 October 2014 Publisher 29 Arts in Progress Ltd.

Catalogue Art Director Giovanni Arnone Printed by Colorart Brescia 2014 Print run 300 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

25 SGD 12 GBP 15 EUR Gian Paolo Singapore 2014 Barbieri • Marina Bay Sands • Singapore 23/26 October 2014 b ieri Bar Gian Paolo

Gian Paolo Barbieri